FOMO drives compulsive checking that worsens, not relieves, anxiety

Evidence

One consequence of the new density of social comparison triggers and their negative feedback loops is a psychological condition known as FOMO (“fear of missing out”). It is a form of social anxiety defined as “the uneasy and sometimes all-consuming feeling that… your peers are doing, in the know about, or in possession of more or something better than you.” It’s a young person’s affliction that is associated with negative mood and low levels of life satisfaction. Research has identified FOMO with compulsive Facebook use: FOMO sufferers obsessively checked their Facebook feeds—during meals, while driving, immediately upon waking or before sleeping, and so on. This compulsive behavior is intended to produce relief in the form of social reassurance, but it predictably breeds more anxiety and more searching. — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 1474

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines FOMO precisely as a social anxiety condition and gives its defining symptoms.
• CANDY: The detail that FOMO sufferers check feeds during meals and while driving is a vivid, shareable fact.
• XREF: connects to: Grandiose delusion can temporarily eliminate felt anxiety — Sheldon Solomon, Jeff Greenberg, Tom Pyszczynski, The Worm at the Core: On the Role of…, 682; The compulsion to consume everything newest replaces rational need with anxiety about falling behind

Broader Connections

• The compulsion to consume everything newest replaces rational need with anxiety about falling behind #exemplifies (0.82)
• Grandiose delusion can temporarily eliminate felt anxiety #qualifies (0.75) — Sheldon Solomon, Jeff Greenberg, Tom Pyszczynski, The Worm at the Core, 682